Bell Gym patrons competing in the White Sands Missile Range CrossFit Open are ready for the competition with some of them working on their goals for the past three years.

Sky M. Clarke, Director, Sports, Fitness and Aquatics at Bell Gym said the competition is open to anyone who wants to participate.

"It is amazing to see how strong they are getting and to see them participate in the world event,"

Clarke said of the students in the CrossFit class offered at Bell Gym.

Clarke, who has been competing for the past five years, said the athletic competition allows you to enter your scores and see where you stand against other people in the world.

Participants can build their profile online and enter their scores every week.

Workout routines are listed online every Thursday night and participants have until Monday at 6 p.m. to do the workout and post their scores.

Clarke said she has been following her student's progression each year.

She said participants who started two or three years ago were very low on the competition, but now they have progressed to a higher standing.

One of those students is Jessica Giron, who started the CrossFit class three years ago after coming back to work from maternity leave.

In the beginning Giron said she couldn't do box jumps, but now three years later she is doing jump ups and pull ups. Clarke said Giron did 40 pull ups just last week.

Giron said she had also never lifted weights before starting the program. Looking back to where she was three years ago and where she is now Giron said she is very proud of herself. She said her goal is to compete against herself and pushes herself to do better each time. Having her classmates cheering her on also helps encourage her.

Participant Vince Fonseca said he started the CrossFit program over a year ago and has seen a lot of improvement. He said he works out four days a week with class mates and has noticed that everyone has improved.

"What I think is even more impressive is to see each individual's progression from when they first started," Clarke said.

A CrossFit foundation class is held every Thursday at 11 a.m. for people interested. "We begin with very light weights and movements," Clarke said.